Then along came e-commerce in the 1990s, and new wrenches were thrown into the discussion. Terms like digital comps, GMV and customer lifetime value started to enter the retail lexicon, bringing with them corporate meeting jargon that still makes some old-school retail leaders go apoplectic trying to make sense of it all. The digital and physical worlds have since then collided. Legacy brick-and-mortar retailers have their numbers while the young, left-brained digital guys and gals have their own metrics, too — so how do we make sense of it all?

First, the industry has to pause, take a deep breath and say to itself that neither side is right or wrong. The world is just different now.